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New York

Remind employees often and clearly about handbook

07/02/2008
Smart HR pros set up tickler files to remind themselves to make sure everyone has the current version of the employee handbook—and any arbitration agreements you ask employees to sign. That file makes it easier to ensure every employee has an up-to-date copy and gets revisions every time policies change …

Warn supervisors: Over-the-Top, irrational behavior may mean personal liability

07/02/2008
Warn hot-headed supervisors that they risk personal liability if they don’t cool it. Employees claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress can sue the company and the supervisor personally, collecting from both …

Keep careful employee count—Exact numbers may pay off in lawsuit

07/02/2008
If a lawsuit involves several employees and Title VII violations, your legal bills could quickly grow. But the law caps damages depending on how many employees an employer had during the year in which the discrimination took place or the year before …

Sure, they’re fair and balanced, but have they been fumigated?

07/02/2008
Jane Clark is suing the landlord of the Fox News Channel building, claiming three encounters with bedbugs left her unable to work. Clark, a satellite feed coordinator for Fox News, says she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after her brush with the bugs …

OSHA citations follow NYC window-Washing scaffold collapse

07/02/2008
OSHA has cited two companies for workplace safety violations that led to the deaths of two window washers in Manhattan last December. The workers fell 47 stories when their scaffolding platform detached from the window-washing rig attached to the building’s roof …

Tavern on the Green pays a big harassment tab

07/02/2008
Manhattan’s Tavern on the Green restaurant has agreed to pay $2.2 million for “severe and pervasive sexual, racial and national origin harassment of female, black and Hispanic employees.” The EEOC said sexual harassment at the Central Park landmark eatery included graphic comments and demands for sexual acts …

Job site fatality brings manslaughter charges

07/02/2008
A Brooklyn contractor has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a worker who was killed while digging a foundation in March. William Lattarulo is accused of ignoring obvious safety hazards and forcing his employees to endanger themselves …

Nassau County SPCA faces sexual harassment suits

07/02/2008
Susan Collison of Massapequa, a former volunteer investigative sergeant with the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), is suing the society, the county and its leadership for sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation … 

Using GPS tracking devices without violating employee privacy

07/02/2008
Global Positioning System devices make it easy for employers to keep track of the location of company vehicles. But for all the pluses of GPS, there are minuses. Because GPS devices also can pinpoint where employees who use company vehicles are and where they have been, the technology has raised new worker privacy concerns that HR professionals need to know about …

Same manager who hired should do the firing

06/04/2008
Discrimination cases are all about motives. That’s especially true when an employee loses his job and alleges that the real reason for his discharge was racism or some other form of bias. One simple way to deflect discrimination charges is to make sure that the same person who made the termination decision also had a direct hand in either the original hiring decision or subsequent promotions …